Distortions
by UpInSmoke
Summary: Ryoga's back in town, but this time he's slightly worse for wear.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any of its characters.

Ranma stood by the bedroom window, absent-mindedly tapping his fingers against the windowsill as he looked out over the grey shadows that blanketed the neighbourhood. In the fading light of evening everything, even Kasumi's carefully tended garden, looked gloomy. He could barely make out the koi pond that he was sure to end up in come tomorrow morning.

He cast his eyes upwards at the evening sky. It was almost completely overcast by heavy grey thunderheads waiting to spill their contents over the streets and houses of Nerima.

A shiver passed through his body.

He shouldn't be awake. He had never suffered from insomnia before,Sleep was meant to be easy for him, it always had been. But today was different. It felt as though something was going to happen tonight. No, that wasn't quite right; it was as if he _knew_ something was going to happen. What exactly that something was, he had no clue. Was this what they called intuition? Knowing, without knowing _how_ he knew. He had heard before of women's intuition, but then of course he wasn't a woman.

Perhaps this was the first sign of approaching insanity. Perhaps the Kuno family madness was contagious and he had caught it through prolonged exposure. For a moment he pictured himself dressed in a blue hamaka, wielding a bokken and spewing forth bad poetry. He shuddered and quickly banished the rather disturbing image from his head. It was probably just the after affects of Akane's cooking. He scratched the back of his head and let out a quiet chuckle. Maybe she had poured an entire jar of coffee into her creation this time. That would go a long way to explain things.

He wondered how someone could possibly be so bad at cooking. Scratch that; he wondered how someone could be so bad at cooking and not realize it.

Letting out a sigh of resignation, he returned to his futon; there was no point thinking about it. It was something he would probably never figure it out.

He lay down and tried to empty his mind. For a while he just stared blankly at the flaking surface of the ceiling, but soon his mind wandered and he found himself focused upon the loud and rhythmic snoring of his father, which was not exactly conducive to sleep.

He certainly deserved some shut-eye more than his father. After all, what had his father done today? Just sit around the Shoji board with Mr. Tendo drinking copious amounts of tea and playing shoji, interrupted only by Kasumi's meals. As far as martial arts went, his father only ever sparred with him in the mornings anymore. Right now his father's life looked like one hell of a vacation. And of course Ranma had been the ticket for this particular holiday. He realized how bitter his train of thoughts had become and felt disgusted with himself. Self-pity was for the weak.

He turned his gaze from the ceiling to the large panda form next to his and watched as he scratched his nose idly in his sleep.

With a growl of frustration he sat up and threw his pillow at his father, who carried on snoring, blissfully unaware.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to find calm. It was useless though; he couldn't shake the feeling and he couldn't get to sleep. If he stayed in here much longer, he would go crazy with frustration. He had to get outside, try to walk off this nervous energy and clear his head.

Getting up quietly he moved to the wardrobe where he pulled out and changed into his usual gear: a red silk shirt, black leggings and a pair of black slippers. He was just about to make his exit through the bedroom window when he was struck by a moment of wisdom. Going back to the wardrobe he quickly found what he was looking for: an umbrella.

He would not be caught out by the impending rain.

--

His feet touched the ground with a quiet thud. He stood up from his crouching position and filled his lungs with the cool night air. Free from the smothering confines of the house he felt some of the frustration and restlessness ease out of his mind and diffuse into the darkness.

He vaulted over the fence and onto the deserted street. All was quiet apart from the distant whoosh of passing of cars, sounding like waves breaking gently upon a shore. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was somewhere else. Sighing, he walked in the direction of the park, which was perhaps his favrouite place in the entire prefecture.

He remembered when he was younger how he had thought parks were places where nature had dug in its claws and refused to let go; a last outpost of wilderness holding out against the concrete incursion. But as he had grown up he had come to realize the truth; they were places where nature had merely been allowed to exist, tame and meek; pale in comparison to the real thing.

Still, it was something, and it brought him closer to those days before Nerima, days when it was just him and his father. His memories of those times were still vivid; climbing to shrines built high up on the sides of snow capped mountains, sleeping in caves to escape the fury of a storm, cresting a hill to see green reaching from the other side all the way to the horizon.

The train of memories came to an abrupt halt.

The restlessness he thought had died away had reared its ugly head once again and suddenly walking seemed intolerably slow. He picked up his pace and started to jog, but it didn't make things any better. The sense of urgency kept growing.

He had to move faster.

He had to get to the park.

His agitation grew steadily. What the hell was going on? Why did he feel like he had to be at the park, and be there _now_?

Thunder rumbled overhead and he swiftly brought up his umbrella in reaction as innumerable droplets of water cascaded down from the sky. The tiny droplets only became visible as they passed under the orange glow of streetlamps and hurtled to the ground, where they proceeded to shatter like glass on the concrete paving. Of course Ranma didn't notice any of this; he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Maybe the notion of him going crazy hadn't been so far-fetched after all. What if this was just some wild goose chase of his own making, getting him all worked up over nothing? Maybe it would be best for him to forget this whole thing and turn back. But another question rang out clearly in his mind.

What if it was real?

A horrible feeling entrenched in his gut told him that it was, and that if he didn't get to the park fast enough he would live to regret it. The closer he got the stronger that feeling became and right now it felt as if it were a certainty, fact rather than unsubstantiated emotion.

By now he was running full pelt, jumping reflexivly over the quickly forming puddles as the panic induced adrenaline pumped through his blood.

"This'd better be worth it." he muttered to himself as he reached the edge of the park, but behind those words was a very real fear. There was anger too, at himself; these kinds of things were only supposed to happen to women, being as illogical as they were, they weren't supposed to happen to him, a guy.

Maybe this was another aspect of his curse. Maybe messing with his body wasn't enough, maybe now it was messing with his mind.

As soon as the thought surfaced he flung it to the furthest reaches of his mind and buried it, hoping never to see it again. It was simply terrible to consider, and it preyed on a fear that had lingered on since his time at jusenkyo.

The rain was now a torrent, beating down relentlessly on his umbrella as he ran down the path that traversed the park. Turning his head to survey the surroundings he found that the thick veil of rain combined with the darkness made it difficult for him to see very far with any great clarity. He continued to run down the path.

All at once he came to a skidding stop.

It was gone.

The sense of direction that had guided him thus far had totally and utterly disappeared, leaving him with nothing other than a growing sense of panic.

"Shit." he cursed. What was he looking for? He looked up at the sky from beneath his umbrella, but the rumbling grey clouds gave him no answers.

"Shit!" he cursed, louder this time.

Thunder rumbled again and he made a break for the nearest tree, trying to get away from the brunt of the rain so he could figure out just what the hell he was going to do.

That's when he saw it.

On a bench, not too far from the tree he was running to, lay an obscure lump. He altered his course, almost falling over in the slippery mud, and ran for the bench instead.

As he closed in it became clear that the lump was in fact a person, lying curled upon the bench.

What were they doing out here in the rain like this?

Lightning flashed, briefly lighting up the area in front of him. And, much to his dismay, in that brief moment of illumination he saw two things that he had not seen before. There was a large travelling backpack leaning up against the side of the bench, and on top of it lay a red bamboo umbrella.

The umbrella was unmistakeable.

He came to a halt in front of the bench.

"Ryoga?" he questioned in disbelief as he stared down at the mud coated and thoroughly soaked individual. But Ryoga was cursed… and it was raining. It couldn't be Ryoga. But how would that explain the umbrella? Had Ryoga found a cure? His thoughts were interrupted when the muddy lump decided to speak.

"Go away" said a weary and distinctly familiar voice.

"It _is_ you..." Ranma stated the obvious in quiet shock, unable to think clearly as he crouched down on to get a closer look.

A face turned towards him, covered in less mud than the rest of the body, and he looked into two green orbs that stood out clearly from the brown muddy mass, even in the darkness. Ryoga let out a tired sigh, as if the mere act of moving his head to face Ranma was a terrible exertion.

"Go away Ranma, I'm busy." His words carried no weight behind them.

Ryoga blinked away the rain and their eyes locked.

A searing pain exploded in Ranma's chest. He collapsed in the mud, triggering the transformation, as unfamiliar thoughts and images flooded her head. Her own thoughts were drowned out by those that did not belong to her and she struggled to hold onto a semblance of self. It felt like someone had tied lead weights around her ankles and thrown her into the ocean, expecting her to swim back to the surface when all she could do was sink further and further down.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it all stopped.

The pain and the mental invasion ceased all at once.

Panting to regain her breath she pushed herself up out of the mud into a sitting position. She was clueless as to what had just happened but her gaze immediately moverd to Ryoga's face, searching for his eyes as the rain fell heavily against her own muddied features.

They had closed.

"Ryoga?" she asked hoarsely.

There was no response, he didn't stir or open his eyes.

Ranma felt worry and panic rise up like an angry tornado in the pit of her stomach. She stood up unsteadily and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him violently.

"Ryoga!"

No response.

"Don't joke around you idiot!" she yelled in vain. "This ain't funny."

Nothing.

As the bony fingers of dread wrapped around her heart, it came to her that a lack of response didn't necessarily mean the worst. No, of course it didn't.

She wasn't thinking straight.

She reached up frantically with her hand to press against the side of his throat, fingers sliding clumsily against the mud slick skin as she searched for his carotid artery. She waited, forever it seemed, for the feel of a pulse. The seconds ticked away and her hope diminished.

Finally though, when the hope she held was on the verge of being extinguished, she felt it. It was weak, extremely so, but it was there.

As she held her fingers there she also noticed another, unfamiliar, sensation. It felt green, a pale sickly green. She didn't know how she could feel a colour but she could definitely feel it. Whatever it is was, it was unmistakeably Ryoga in essence and right now it was little more than a tiny flicker, wavering dangerously on the brink of going out.

She didn't waste any time trying to figure it out. Instead she pulled his limp body over her shoulder in a fireman's carry and ran as fast as her legs would carry her in the direction of the hospital.

"Don't you dare die on me Ryoga!" she shouted, a tangle of fury and concern."You do and I swear to god I'll kill you."

It came to her attention that what she said hadn't made a whole lot of sense, but then again none of this did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½_ or any of its characters.

**_Ten days earlier_**...

Sitting on the small ledge, he threw another rock into the distance. He watched intently as it flew through the air, becoming a minute dot in his vision until it finally disappeared beneath the canopy of the forest far below.

It seemed that it was his lot in life to be miserable.

He picked up another convenient rock.

Ranma didn't deserve all the things that he had been given. A roof over his head, free meals, a home, a family, getting to wake in the same place to same people each day, he even got to have _her_.

It galled him no end. How could the world be so ridiculously unjust? How could someone so shallow and crude be the fiancé to someone so perfect? It should be Ranma out here, lost and alone. His fist clenched tightly as he glared at the intolerably blue sky.

He leaned forward and screamed his resentment into the valley below until his throat was soar.

Sitting back, he made to throw the rock in his hand but the sandstone had crumbled. The pieces fell free from his hand and tumbled down onto steep slope below. The smallest of pieces were carried off by the wind as tiny flecks of dust.

He broke into a fit of laughter, a mirthless laughter dripping in bitterness.

Finally he pulled himself together and looked around at the breathtaking landscape, huge rolling hills covered in luscious greenery as far as the eye could see. Life seemed to ooze out of every crack and pore.

All this beauty but it was all worthless, seeing as he had no one to share it with.

Maybe one day he could bring Akane here.

He snorted at himself in disgust. _Like that would ever happen._ He couldn't even ask her out. Every time he tried, he would stumble in his efforts and end up changing his mind. Of course, he knew why he couldn't ask her. He was afraid, afraid that she would say no. He wouldn't be able to deal with such an answer. He didn't want to think what it would do to him.

He slammed his fist into the ledge beneath him in frustration at his inability to act upon his desires.

_And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions_

He smirked derisively at himself as the line from some long forgotten book floated to the surface of his mind to mock him.

Then quite out of nowhere he felt the ledge beneath him give way.

He found himself tumbling, his vision alternating between a picture perfect blue sky and the dirty yellow ground. Eventually he came to a stop thanks to a tree. He rubbed the back of his head, sore from all the rock it had met on the way down.

It was his own fault really. What had he expected? He was Ryoga Hibiki; the ledge was bound to collapse beneath him. Then again, he probably wouldn't have been so angry if it wasn't for Ranma, and if he wasn't so angry he wouldn't have hit the ledge, and it wouldn't have broke.

He was just about to grumble something about how it was all Ranma's fault when he heard ominous rumbling and crashing noises coming from behind him. He turned away from the tree to be greeted with the sight of a rather large boulder hurtling towards him. Before he could gather his wits enough to move out of the way, his vision was filled entirely with the brownish surface of the boulder and he felt an immense impact against his body as it crushed him against the tree. He quickly succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness.

--

_**Present...**_

Ryoga opened his eyes. He immediately regretted doing so. The transition from absolute darkness to the bright light of the ceiling light was a painful one. He closed his eyes quickly and opened them more slowly this time, allowing them to adjust to the light. He knew at once where he was, there was that unique smell of synthetic material and antiseptic; it was a hospital. He blinked until his vision cleared. How had he gotten here? His mind was still groggy and it took some time for his latest memories to filter back in.

Ryoga groaned as last nights events became clear.

Ranma had probably saved his life. He knew that he should be grateful for it, but it just felt like another reason to hate him. He didn't want to be indebted to anyone, especially Ranma. He hadn't really wanted to be saved either.

He became aware of another presence in the small room. Sitting on chair at his bedside was a red head leaning against the side of his bed, her head resting on his leg, and a hand resting on his wrist. She was obviously asleep. It would have been a comforting sight, to know that someone had cared enough to stay at his bedside, but for the fact that this someone was Ranma.

He immediately felt repulsed by the contact and quickly removed his arm from under her hand. For a few moments he was lost over what to do with his leg, and how to extricate it from beneath the head of the sleeping girl without waking her. Then the realization hit him again; this was Ranma, why should he care about waking her or not? He pushed his leg up swiftly, his knee impacting the side of the Ranma's head and sending her sprawling onto the shiny lino floor.

Ranma appeared to wake up at that and sat up on the floor in a slight daze from the impact.

'Geez, what was that for?" groggily she rubbed her eyes with her hands

"Your head was on my leg" he replied as he lowered his leg cautiously. The abrupt movement having caused him a quite a bit of pain.

"Huh?"

"Your head was on my leg"

"So?"

"I DIDN'T WANT YOUR HEAD ON MY LEG," Ryoga roared.

"You didn't hav'ta knee me in the head," she scowled as she rubbed the side of her head.

He didn't reply to that, she was probably right. It was just that it always felt good to see Ranma suffer. He wasn't going to tell her that though, so he just turned away from her.

"Not feeling too good aye P-Chan?"

_P-Chan_. Even with his back turned to her he could just picture the arrogant smirk on Ranma's face. It made his blood boil. He had been prepared to just ignore her but he couldn't let this one go, Ranma had hit one of his sore spots.

"PREPARE TO DIE!" he shouted with conviction as he turned around. He tried to push himself up off the bed but found himself in a world of pain as every part of his body screamed out against his actions. He slumped back down to his bed in frustration. He settled for a simple glare in the direction of Ranma, who was now back in her seat. Ryoga's was a little surprised to find the usual smirk wasn't there; perhaps she wasn't finding humour in his misfortune…this time.

"I guess it'll have to wait," she said with an unreadable expression. "So how you feeling?"

"I feel like shit"

"Well you look the way you feel."

Ryoga clenched his jaw at the comment, but looking at Ranma, she looked rather serious about what she said. Perhaps this was a new way Ranma had concocted of insulting him. Insulting him in such a way that it looked like she wasn't insulting him…

He mentally slapped himself.

He was being paranoid, just like the lady had said, and he had caught himself in the act; when had he gotten so bad? Ryoga pushed the troubling thoughts out of his head and decided to take a look at his condition for himself. Pushing down the bed sheet, he pulled down the hospital gown a little and looked down at his arms and torso. It wasn't a pleasant sight. He was covered in numerous scabs, scratches and bruises, and he noticed several tubes going into his arms. He did look like shit.

Ryoga sighed; he could feel a headache coming on as the light continued its assault on his eyes.

"Want me to turn the light off?" Ranma spoke up.

"Yea"

Ranma rose swiftly from the chair and moved to the wall where she turned off the offending light. Ryoga felt an immediate relief to the pressure that had been building at the front of his skull. Now there was only the soft daylight streaming in through the window. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Thanks"

There was a short silence, and the look on Ranma's face spoke of a surprise.

"No problem" she finally responded, closely scrutinizing him as if she were searching for something wrong with him.

"What?" he asked indignantly. Was it so hard to imagine him expressing his gratitude?

"Nothing," Ranma stopped looking at Ryoga and shifted her gaze to the wall on his right.

Right at that moment a knock sounded on the door, and shortly afterwards a tall middle-aged man in a white coat strode into the room.

"Well good morning Miss Hyrosue, I hope you slept well," The man said pleasantly. As he closed the door behind him he looked up and must have noticed Ryoga was awake because he came to a standstill with a look of surprise.

"And good morning to you too " he said finally, but without any of the cordiality in his voice he had when greeting Ranma. Ryoga wondered what exactly he had done to deserve such a frosty welcome.

"Hello" said Ryoga plainly, not really sure what was going on.

"My name is Dr Ichimoto, I've been handeling your care since your arrival. It's good to see you finally awake," he said as he came over and started examining Ryoga's eyes. "How are you feeling?"

The doctor pressed the cold metal of his stethoscope against Ryoga's chest.

"Just a little sore, not too bad"

"Take nice deep breaths for me please"

Ryoga complied.

The doctor moved the stethoscope to another position on his chest "Cough please"

"How long have I been out?" Ryoga asked after coughing several times.

"Approximately four days," The doctor let go of his stethoscope and started to methodically look over Ryoga's arms, torso and legs. "To be honest we weren't expecting you to wake up".

"Oh," was all that Ryoga managed to get out.

"Of course your sister didn't believe that."

'Sister?_'_Ryoga thought in astonishment. He didn't have a sister. Finally he put two and two together and looked at Ranma, but Ranma was still staring intently at the wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

After the examination the doctor moved away from him and grabbed the clipboard hanging from the bottom of his bed, proceeding to write on the other side.

"Well you have some residual bruising, but your cuts are healing up far better than expected." The doctor said whilst writing.

"Does that mean I can leave?"

"I would like to keep you in for a few more days of observations in case of any complications." he said whilst levelling a gaze at Ryoga that said there was no room for negotiation.

The doctor finished writing and hung the clipboard with the charts back at the bottom of the bed.

"So, would you like to tell me how it is you got in such a condition?" There was an edge to the Doctor's voice as he spoke. Ryoga remained silent; he wasn't prepared to talk about it him or anybody else. The Doctor stared at him expectantly, but it didnt didn't sway him.

"Well I gather from your reticence, that you do not wish to share the details," the man said icily. "I will send a nurse shortly with something for the pain"

With that said the doctor turned sharply and headed for the door. However, upon reaching the door he stopped and then turned back round.

"Actually, Miss Hyrosue could you step outside for a moment? I would like to speak with your brother." Ryoga had a feeling that the doctor had intended to this from the start, and it wasn't the sudden decision he made it out to be.

Ranma remained motionless in her seat, facing the doctor, so Ryoga couldn't see the look on her face.

"Don't worry," the Doctor smiled warmly at her. Ryoga thought he was going to be sick with revulsion. Ranma certainly had a way with men. "It's nothing serious, I just wish to speak with him privately"

"Sorry," Ranma said contritely before getting up and heading for the door. Ryoga wasn't sure if she was addressing him or the doctor. It was probably the doctor. Ryoga turned his attention back to the doctor, whose hard gaze was now locked with his; he could detect the man's anger barely hidden beneath the calm veneer.

'_Oh boy'_ He thought dryly. _'I bet this is all your fault Ranma'_

_--_

The Doctor finally left and Ranma came back in.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing important" Ryoga responded, not really knowing if he was lying or not. He could see that Ranma wasn't happy with the answer but he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't feel like talking about anything. He felt too tired. He shifted to his side on the bed so his back was to Ranma as she sat back down. Thankfully she didn't bother him any further about what the doctor said. Perhaps she was just glad Ryoga hadn't asked her about the whole sister thing. He would hate to have Ranma as a sibling.

For a long time they remained like that, silent in the dim light of the room. He longed to be out of this place, hospitals only held bad memories and the smell was driving him crazy.

"I hate hospitals," he muttered to himself.

"Yea me too" Ranma added sullenly. "They make me feel sick"

Ryoga shifted onto his back and couldn't help but chuckle at her statement and her grim expression. A wry smile appeared on Ranma's face as she too realized the irony of it.

Ryoga's chuckle quickly turned into full-blown laughter, not just at what had been said but at the whole ridiculous situation. He winced as his actions caused sharp pains in his sides.

Ranma's expression turned to one of concern.

"Ryoga, you gonna be ok?"

"Yea" he replied with a tired smile, feeling better despite the pain.

"Want me to get you outa this place?"

"It would be appreciated" He didn't bother to ask how Ranma would do it.

--

Ranma tiptoed into the house from the open door to the back garden. She then placed Ryoga on the couch as if he were made of glass. This irritated Ryoga, who didn't take kindly to being treated as if he were weak. His irritation had been growing steadily at have the indignity of being carried by Ranma all the way from the hospital. They had stopped halfway to buy some sandwiches but had left quickly as Ryoga's hospital gown had drawn a lot of stares.

"What the hell's wrong with you? I'm not gonna shatter into a thousand pieces!" he quipped angrily

Ranma raised an eyebrow and looked at Ryoga as if he were a petulant child.

"Don't look at me like that!"

Ryoga tried to punch Ranma in the face but the movement hurt and the punch came out slow and sloppy. Ranma caught his arm easily and pushed it back to his side.

"Hey man, take it easy."

Ryoga huffed in frustration. It was useless; he couldn't do anything now. "Just you wait Ranma," he muttered, "When I'm healed up your going to pay."

Ranma cocked her head to the side and smirked. "Whatever you say P-Chan."

Ryoga narrowed his eyes at her in a scowl. Ranma chuckled and raised her hands in mock surrender.

"Ok, ok I'll leave ya alone," she got up to leave, or rather she started to get up but never quite made it to standing. There was a loud thwack as wood hit head and Ranma lay on the floor looking slightly dazed.

"Ranma you jerk! What have you done to him?!"

"I didn't do any..."

"Why do you always have to pick on him, huh?! What has he ever done to you?"

"But I didn't do…"

"I don't want to hear your lame excuses! You go missing for days without telling anyone you're going. Then you waltz back in here and have the nerve to pick on Ryoga." She raised her mallet again, ready to strike Ranma down again with her righteous fury.

For a moment Akane, bathed in her anger fuelled battle aura, looked like a fiery goddess of war come to serve justice against those who had sinned. Ryoga's heart beat faster as he gazed at her beauty in awe. But then Ryoga caught a look at Ranma's face, as she lay there on the floor protesting her innocence.

'_That's right'_, he thought suddenly, snapping out of his idolization. Ranma was innocent. She had been with him for the last few days and apart from calling him P-Chan a few times she hadn't really done anything. He looked back up at Akane and in that split second, the image of Akane that he was so in awe of shattered and was replaced by something far less attractive: a person blinded by their anger, face twisted in rage, in many ways a reflection of himself.

Ryoga suddenly felt very nauseas and had an inexorable urge to empty out the contents of his stomach, which was exactly what he did. He proceeded to lean over and vomit, not wanting to get anything on the sofa, which was unlucky for Akane since she was standing in front of the sofa, right in the firing line.

Akane stopped mid swing. She took one look at the lumpy multicoloured mess that had found its way onto her dress and her hand and turned green. Her anger and her mallet were quickly forgotten as her other uncoated hand came up to cover her mouth and she ran for the stairs, no doubt heading for the bathroom. Moments later there was audible slamming of a door.

Ranma sat upright, still rubbing the back of hers head.

"Thanks," she said solemnly. " I thought I'd had it for sure that time, with you in such a state and all."

"No problem," Ryoga responded in an equally solemn voice. he stared at the space that Akane had vacated seconds before with a feeling of guilt for unintentionally causing her such distress. However, there was also a sense of relief intertwined with that guilt for he was unsure if he would have done the right thing and intervened on Ranma's behalf had the act of throwing up not driven Akane away. Most likely not.

For a while there was heavy silence, and the image of Akane as she had been in that moment of anger lingered in his mind like a bitter aftertaste refusing to leave the tongue. Yet, Ryoga knew in his heart that what he had seen wasn't the real Akane. No, the real Akane was kind and gentle, with a smile that made you forget how much life really sucked.

_I guess you just bring out the worst in people Ranma._

"You gonna be sick some more?" asked Ranma, finally ending the silence.

"No" Ryoga looked at the mess and recognized various bits from the sandwich he had eaten on the way back '_So much for that sandwich_' he thought mournfully. "Not anytime soon."

Ranma got up and surveyed the scene with a frown. She left the room momentarily and came back carrying a glass of water, a mop and a bucket.

He handed the water to Ryoga who quickly drained it of its contents, savouring the feel of the cool water on a throat that felt raw from throwing up. He put the glass down on the nearby coffee table and watched as Ranma quickly mopped up the mess. She took the bucket and mop back to the kitchen and returned with a washcloth with which she proceeded to clean up what had gotten onto the bottom of the sofa.

Ryoga leaned over to have look and saw his handiwork being wiped away.

"Is that all gonna come out?" He didn't like the idea of dirtying the house, which Kasumi worked hard to keep so clean.

"Yea" Ranma replied wrinkling her nose "You know your breath stinks pretty bad. Come to think of it, the rest of you smells pretty bad too, and you look kinda dirty" Ranma said matter-of-factly.

Ryoga's eyebrow twitched.

"I think a wash and a soak in the furo would do you good, certainly makes me feel better when I'm all battered and bruised."

"Probably." he replied, unscertain now if he should feel angry or not over Ranma's remarks.

"I'll take that as a yes," she left the room and returned without the washcloth. She came over to him and tried to scoop him up off the couch.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Ryoga asked irritably as he resisted being lifted. "I don't need your damn help, I can walk on my own two feet!"

Ranma gave him a doubtful look, but backed of and gave him enough room to stand by himself.

Slowly, Ryoga swung his feet off the sofa and onto the floor. Even that small act of getting himself upright made him feel dizzy.

"Give me a hand," he said resignedly, though he didn't like it one bit.

Ranma grabbed Ryoga's hand and hauled him to his feet. Ryoga put his arm around her shoulder and used her as a support as he began to shuffle towards their destination.

--

Quite a while later they arrived at the furo. Walking, even with Ranma's help had been a slow and laborious process.

"You know, we coulda got here a lot faster," Ranma said dryly.

"If you were me, wouldn't you rather walk?"

Ranma opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but closed it again without a sound.

"I thought so," said Ryoga as they went through the door, though he was feeling to tired to act smug about it.

"I'll go grab some clothes," said Ranma as he left Ryoga sitting on the side of the furo.

Ryoga started to strip down; thankfully he was only wearing a hospital gown and some socks. It was relatively easy getting the gown off but the socks were an entirely different matter. His fingers felt clumsy, and bending over to pull at the socks made him hurt all over. Despite this he grabbed hold of the socks as best he could and tried very hard to pull them off. He tried several times but the damn things wouldn't come off. Eventually his patience ran out and the sheer frustration of it made him want to yell. He really wanted to break something.

"Need some help?"

Ryoga looked up to find Ranma was back. She was carrying a pile of clothes that looked like her usual gear, two red silk shirt with wooden ties and two sets of black pants.

"No" he replied flatly.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, and placed the clothes on the nearby counter.

Ryoga, feeling slightly calmer, decided to make another attempt at sock removal. He bent over and tried to pull one off but it didn't comply.

"Stupid socks!" he shouted grabbing both socks and pulling them up violently. Both socks tore into pieces, which fell off his feet with ease. However, the unexpected momentum carried him backwards and Ryoga could feel himself falling backwards into the furo. He closed his eyes ready for the splash down but he never hit the water; his movement came to a halt as a hand grabbed one of his flailing arms and pulled him back from the brink.

Ryoga exhaled in relief. "That was close"

"Yea, coulda contaminated the water."

Ryoga decided to just ignore that comment. He got up and started filling a bucket with water. He lifted the bucket slowly ignoring the pain in his arms and upended it over himself. The cold water came crashing down onto his body. For a moment he felt great that he hadn't experienced the change he had come to expect with cold water. However this feeling was quickly crushed as he remembered the price he had paid for it.

"So, you gonna tell me how you got cured?" Ranma asked from behind him. Ryoga turned his head and found Ranma staring at him, with a look of anticipation on her face. Ryoga smirked inwardly; this was probably why Ranma was being so reasonable, she was just after the cure.

"It's not a cure," he said bluntly, while turning back to refill another bucket. "Its only temporary, I've had it for a week and I've only got a few more days left of it. Once it wears of I wont be able to use it again."

"Oh" said Ranma, sounding dejected. "Ah, it's not like I expected a cure to come so easy anyway". Ryoga turned back again to look at her. She tried to sound like she didn't care, but the disappointment was obvious.

Ryoga, as he lathered himself up with soap, began to feel a little bad about shooting down her hopes. No doubt she had been building it up for days. He may not have liked Ranma very much but he was in a unique position to understand what was going through her head. The hope of one day finding a cure was something that both of them needed to maintain, every disappointed was a painful blow, and it made keeping that hope alive that much harder.

Ryoga upended the bucket of water again, washing away the soap, then stepped into the furo. He sank down so the water came up to his chin. He could immediately feel the effects as the warmth of the water started to diffuse into his tired body, beginning to erase the tension from his muscles and making him feel incredibly drowsy. Ranma was right; this was already making him feel a whole lot better.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½_ _or any of its characters_

**_10 days ago_…(after Ryoga's ill fated encounter with a boulder)**

Ryoga huffed in exasperation. The warm orange hues of sunset had long ago disappeared, replaced by an intermittent moonlight that filtered down through the canopy and speckled the ground in eerie patterns. He was still here though, in this god-forsaken forest, feeling even more lost than usual. He didn't even know how the latter part was possible.

He Looked around again and let out another huff.

Just trees, trees and more trees. He really was beginning to hate trees.

He wasn't usually so bothered about getting lost in a forest. It happened all the time, but not in a place like this. This place gave him the creeps. The giant Redwoods, the only trees that seemed to grow here, created hauntingly empty corridors that seemed to stretch on forever. Each corridor was identical to the next and led to nowhere. And apart from the occasional rustling of leaves, as a wandering wind drifted through the treetops, the forest was still and deathly silent. No crickets, no bats, no birds, no nothing. The whole place seemed unnatural.

A fallen twig snapped loudly under his own foot, seeming like a gunshot in the heavy silence. Startled, he whirled round instinctively, ready for an attack from behind.When he realized there was nothing there he let out a sigh of relief and let his muscles relax. Looking down at his boots and the snapped twig he gave a thoughtful frown. It was probably wise to set up camp now and wait for daybreak, before he started getting paranoid visions of monsters skulking in the shadows. This place would probably look a lot less creepy in daylight.

'Looks likes it gonna be another night alone, just me and the…' He looked skywards only to be reminded the stars were currently unavailable for gazing.

He muttered a curse.

'Guess it's just me then.' He amended in a deflated tone as he shrugged off his backpack.

He turned around to take out his sleeping bag, but something he glimpsed in the corner of his eye caught his attention; a bright yellow speck. He turned back and looked at it straight on, blinking a few times to make sure he was seeing right.

It was very small but it was definitely there. Was it a light? There was no other explanation. But then what was it doing way out here in the middle of the forest?

Thoughts of sleep were quickly forgotten when it dawned on him that this could be a sign of nearby civilisation. Maybe he was closer to the edge of the forest than he had previously thought. This light could be his one-way ticket out of here.

Whilst keeping his eyes firmly on the light he reached behind him for his backpack and pulled the straps back onto his shoulders. Standing up slowly he let out a slow calming breath. He had to be extremely careful not to loose track of the light for even a moment, else he knew he would loose it forever.

He began to walk, each step slow and calculated.

"You can make it," he muttered to himself resolutely.

The light was straight ahead, all he had to do was put one foot in front of the other and he would reach it eventually. Of course it was easier said then done. Even with his first few paces he could feel something inside him trying to subvert his every step, make him place his foot slightly to the right or slightly to the left. It was like an itch that grew in size the longer he kept walking in the right direction. He had to struggle against it with every ounce of willpower he possessed. Perspiration had already begun to collect on his brow as Ryoga waged an internal war.

Twenty minutes later, feeling mentally exhausted, he wiped the stinging sweat from his eyes and found the light had adopted a square shape. It was only a hundred or so yards away now and he could tell for sure that it from a window. He was filled with a sense of euphoria.

He hadn't gotten lost.

A wild grin broke out on his face. He had to fight back the urge to simply start running. It was so close.

But the euphoria didn't last though. How could it?

One blink was all it took. One blink and it was gone.

He stared down the corridor and where once there had been light he saw only an endless darkness. Coming to a complete standstill, he looked about frantically, not wanting to believe what his eyes were telling him. He spun around three hundred and sixty degrees, but no matter the direction in which he looked there was no sign of the window.

He bowed his head and stared dejectedly at the damp decaying leaves strewn across the ground beneath him. Taking slow calming breaths, he tried to reign in his emotions.

He couldn't do it though.

In an instant his face contorted into a mask of rage as he charged forward and drove his fist into a tree, splintering straight through the wood.

He had worked so hard for this; he had been so patient, he had been so careful. All for fucking nothing.

He closed his eyes and screamed, unable to stem the flow of negative emotions as he slammed his fist into the tree again. The tree decided it had enough, and with a creak and a resonating snap, it fell.

More than anything, he was angry with himself. He should have known better. Life had baited him once again, and he had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

He could just picture Ranma laughing at him now.

He struck out again blindly but this time his fist found nothing but air. Stumbling forward with momentum of his unconnected punch, he fell unceremoniously to his hands and knees. He opened his eyes and looked up and came upon an unexpected sight.

'Huh?'

He was in a small clearing, in the centre of which sat a small white cottage. The clearing was just a little larger than the cottage itself and the cottage had a single window from which it was emitting light. Was this the window he had been chasing? He looked around suspiciously, expecting for the place to disappear at any given moment. He almost didn't believe it was actually here in front of him.

How exactly had he gotten here? He had been standing in front of a tree one moment and the next moment he was in this clearing. Trees didn't just move, and there had been no sign of this place before.

He puzzled over it for all of ten seconds until he realized it was probably just an extension of his ability to get lost. The irony of it was almost enough to make him laugh. _Almost_.

He got up warily and brushed himself off, picking off the wet leaves that had managed to stick themselves to his person.

Well, this wasn't the town or village he had hoped for but at least it was something. He moved to the door, which was a bit small, not reaching above his shoulders in height, and knocked on its wood grained surface.

After a few long moments the door opened and he was greeted by the sight of a small and wrinkled woman that reminded him of Cologne. Though perhaps this woman was not so small and wrinkled in comparison.

'Why hello there, can I be of assistance?' she asked cheerfully.

'I was wondering if you could tell me which way Tokyo is?'

The woman chuckled in obvious amusement and Ryoga felt more than a little embarrassed. No doubt he was a long, long way from Tokyo.

'I think it's only polite that you tell me your name before you ask something of me.' She chided.

'Oh...uh sorry,' he bowed slightly. 'Ryoga Hibiki'

The woman smiled warmly in response, wrinkling her face even more.

'Marla. Why don't you come in for a bit and I shall tell you where you're Tokyo is' She lingered a moment longer at the doorway and gave him an appraising look before disappearing into the dimly lit house, leaving the door open.

Ryoga chose to ignore the voice in the back of his head that said this was too good to be true and silently thanked the heavens for his good fortune. He ducked his head low and followed her inside, leaving his shoes and backpack by the entrance. Once inside the sparsely decorated hallway, he waited for her invitation to come further into the house, not wanting to impose on her hospitality.

'Well come in then, you're not going to achieve anything by standing there.'

Ryoga made his way slowly into the room the voice had come from. It was a living room of sorts, small and cosy, complete with a log fire and two old wicker chairs sitting in front of the fireplace. And in between the chairs sat a low mahogany table.

The old woman shuffled back into the room through another doorway, carrying a wooden tray laden with what looked like tea and biscuits.

'Take a seat, I've made us some tea'

Ryoga frowned, wondering just how she had produced the tea so quickly.

She gave him a knowing smile, as she put the tray down on the small table

'I was just making some tea for myself when u knocked, but I always make more than enough for two,'

'Oh, I wasn't really planning on staying for long'

'Oh' she responded, her voice heavy with disappointment.

He sighed in resignation.

'But I guess I'm in no big hurry to get anywhere,'

'Splendid!' she clasped her hands together and her expression lifted.

He took a seat opposite her and waited for her to pick up her cup of tea befure he picked up his. He studied the her for a moment as she blew gently into her tea. Her white hair was tied back severely into a bun and she wore simple black dress that looked like it had seen better days. He wondered just how she had come to live out here.

'Do you live here by yourself?'

'I do. Why do you ask?'

'Well, its just…' he trailed off, biting the corner of his lower lip with one of his fangs, unsure of how to phrase what he wanted to say.

'Just?'

'Just,' he paused 'It's not that you can't take care of yourself, but you sure its wise to let strangers into your home?'

'Is there some reason I shouldn't have let you in?' she drew back into her chair and narrowed her eyes at him.

'No!' he said hastily 'you misunderstand I'm not…'

Ryoga didn't finish as she began to chuckle. It quickly dawned on him that he was the butt of another joke.

'I'm only teasing. Thank you for your concern though; I shall consider your advice. It's just hard for me not to jump at the chance for a friendly conversation. I hardly ever get any visitors'

Ryoga sank back into his chair, thankful for not having to deal with an awkward situation.

'I don't suppose you would, living out here' It seemed like such a dark and desolate place for such a nice person to live 'why _do_ you live out here anyway?'

A sad smile graced her face, and Ryoga knew he had asked the wrong question.

'Sorry. It's none of my business,'

She looked at him and sighed.

'It's alright, it's not your fault for asking.' For a while her eyes looked distant and Ryoga wandered if she was going to say anything else. Finally, as the silence grew uncomfortable, she spoke 'I live out here because I have no family left, and I find myself ill at ease with the rest of humanity.'

For a brief moment Ryoga thought he could see the loneliness etched in the features of her face, but even if was there it was quickly covered up by a bright smile.

"Enough of such talk; this is a happy occasion. Why don't you tell me about yourself and your travels?' she asked firmly, as if to banish all gloominess from the room.

'What would you like to know?' asked Ryoga, a little taken aback by the quick change in demeanour.

'What is it you do for a living?'

'Well I don't have a job as such.'

'Oh?'

'I mean I don't really need the money, I've been travelling for years and I'm pretty used to just living off the land.' He reached forward and grabbed another ginger biscuit. 'Whenever I do need money though, I take on odd jobs in the places I pass through. You know, fixing fences, digging ditches, tiling roves. Whatever's available really? Guess you could call me a manual labourer.' He said with a wry smile, deciding not to mention the several jobs he'd had recently that involved demolition.

'My, you sound like a very independent young man! Are you going to travel all your life?'

He looked down into his nearly empty cup of tea, feeling a lot of the good cheer leaving him as he thought about his future with the family curse. Most of the time he tried not to think too much about the future.

'Hope not, but it's in my blood to travel. I don't know if I'll ever really be able to settle down'.

'Oh hush! All you need is a nice girl. That'll get you over your wanderlust.'

Ryoga didn't have it in his heart to disagree, she sounded too happy, and so he just looked up and forced a smile.

'You know, when I was young I used to travel quite a bit too.' She said with pride. 'I made my money by fortune telling, but I guess your generation doesn't believe in any of that nonsense.'

Ryoga shrugged his shoulders. 'I haven't dismissed it entirely'

'In that case, would you care to give me your hand? I specialized in reading palms'

Ryoga leaned forward and presented her with his hand, palm face up.

She took it with her worn bony hands and looked at it closely, running her fingers across its creases and bringing it to within centimetres of her face.

She looked at it for a good long while, making Ryoga more and more curious as to what exactly she could see in the disorderly crisscross of lines that ran across his palm. He knew it was probably just another device in the fortune-teller act, but it still worked on him.

'Hmmmm,' she said finally, causing Ryoga to nearly fall out of his chair.

_'Five minutes of examination and all she has to say is 'hmmm''_ he thought dryly.

'What is it?' he asked, trying to elicit an explanation.

She raised her head and looked him dead in the eyes.

'You are going to lead a miserable life', she told him flatly.

'Huh?' He'd expected to hear something upbeat. After all it wasn't like fortune-tellers to discourage their customers. He had NOT expected to hear THAT.

'And once you reach the end of your miserable life you will die the same way that you lived, alone and unloved,' she added, before giving him a malevolent smile.

Ryoga stood up, knocking his chair over and moving away from her.

'What the hell kind of fortune telling was that?'.

She waved her hand dismissively. 'Oh don't get your panties in a twist'

He continued to stare her down, waiting for an explanation.

She rolled her eyes at him and sighed. 'I just told you how I saw it Ryoga. I could have lied to you and told you you'd have a happy life full of love and justice' she smirked. 'But I figured you deserved the truth'.

'Bullshit! You can't actually tell the future!'

'Sure, if that makes you feel better, you just go ahead and believe that. But ask yourself this; what kind of old lady has tea at' she paused and looked at the wall, causing Ryoga to follow her gaze and spot a clock on the wall' 'one in the morning. Truth be told, I knew you were coming and I was prepared.'

Ryoga stumbled as he backed away further and collided with a shelf on the wall, sending it crashing to the floor with its contents. If she knew he was coming did that mean she really could see the future? If so, that would mean… NO. He didn't believe in this shit! She was playing mind games with him.

"To hell with you and your tricks. I'm leaving," He announced with disdain before whirling around to make his exit.

He sweat-dropped and pointed to the wall, the door was gone.

He turned slowly and looked around the entire room. There were no longer any doorways leading in, or out for that matter. Ryoga got an unpleasant sinking feeling in his gut.

Marla gave him an amused look.

'I'm afraid you won't be leaving for a while dear'.

Ryoga snorted. 'It takes more than that to stop me.'

He turned back to the wall and jabbed his finger against it, using the breakpoint technique. He waited for the explosion of masonry debris that was to follow.

Nothing happened.

He could hear the woman begin to laugh behind him.

Gritting his teeth in determination he jabbed his finger into the wall again. The execution of the move was flawless but the results were the same.

'Tut tut tut, trying to destroy a poor old lady's home, what would your mother say?'

Ryoga roared in frustration and turned round to face his tormentor.

'Just what the hell are you? A witch a demon?'

'Neither'

'Then what?'

She brought her index finger to her lips and tilted her head in mock contemplation

'Hmm, that's a hard one. I guess, if you wanted to call me something, you could call me a forest spirit.' she said with an evil smirk.

All the righteous anger drained out of Ryoga and he gulped. He'd heard too many folk tales during his travels concerning evil forest spirits that subjugated young men to satisfy their wicked desires.

'What do you want with me?' he asked nervously.

She took another sip of her tea as if the whole situation was inconsequential.

'You entered my forest, which means I get to play with you'

Ryoga went deathly pale, his mind gripped by absolute terror. Images of a very wrinkled and very naked Marla, cackling and brandishing a bullwhip, flashed through his mind.

He felt like he might throw up but he managed to draw himself unsteadily into a battle stance. He would not be taken alive.

Marla simply looked up at him and rolled her eyes again.

'Why don't you sit down?' It was more of a command than a question and much to his dismay he found his body decided to obey. He walked back to his chair, righted it and took a seat. His sense of panic reached epic proportions as he realized he had no control whatsoever over the situation.

Marla shook her head and sighed.

'Calm down Ryoga, I have no desire for your body'

Ryoga let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Anything was better than _that_ fate.

Ryoga was about to ask again what she wanted with him, but a hand motion from her silenced him. It felt like his lips were glued tightly together. For a moment he panicked, thinking he wouldn't be able to breathe, but then he remembered he had a nose and felt rather foolish.

'Now Ryoga, down to business. If you behave and answer all my questions honestly, like a good boy, I'll let you go free. I'll even give you a parting gift. If, on the other hand, you try to be difficult, you will never again set foot outside this forest because I'll turn you into a mushroom. Do I make myself clear?'

Ryoga simply nodded.

'Now' she poured herself another cup of tea ' you may not know anything about me, but I know an awful lot about you, so don't you get it into your little head to lie to me'. She finished refilling her cup and looked enquiringly towards him 'Would you like a refill?'

Ryoga shook his head as he stared sullenly at the tea and biscuits. They were probably laced with the potion or spell she had used to gain control of his body. He was way too trusting.

'Suit yourself.'

She took a sip of her tea all the while keeping her eyes locked with his. He felt very uncomfortable under her scrutiny but didn't dare look away. She made another hand gesture and he felt his lips unsealed 'So tell me Ryouga, what makes a real man?'

As he tried to come up with an answer there was really only one word that came to him.

'Honour'

'Bingo' she said in a manner that made him think of a cat that had cornered a mouse.

_Why did he have really bad feeling about this?_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Present….**

Ranma awoke to the sound of an insistent knocking.

For a few seconds he wondered where the knocking was coming from.

_Was it coming from the ceiling?_

_No, it isn't coming from above_.

In fact it was coming from the door to his left, and it was accompanied by Nabiki's slightly irritated voice.

'Ranma?'

'What dya want?' he asked, stifling a yawn.

'Whatever it is you and Ryoga-kun are doing in there,' she said with a suggestive lilt to her voice 'I hope it's worth missing dinner over.'

Ranma then heard her footsteps leading her away.

His not yet fully lucid mind slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Him…Ryoga…dinner…

_Dinner!_

He sat up quickly. How long had they been in here? The water wasn't even warm anymore.

He looked over at Ryoga who still had his eyes closed and head leaning back against the edge of the furo. He poked Ryoga in the forehead with his index finger, but there was no reaction.

_Yep, he's asleep. _

Reaching down into the water, he cupped some of the liquid in his hands and splashed it over Ryoga's face.

Ryoga woke up spluttering.

'What's going on?' he asked, sounding rather disgruntled.

'Dinner time, we gotta go'.

Ryoga groaned and sank deeper into the water.

'Can't I just stay here?'

'Nope'.

'But I'm not hungry' he protested.

'Doesn't matter, you still gotta eat something.' Ranma started to lift himself out of the water, but was stopped by Ryoga grabbing his arm.

He turned and looked enquiringly at the lost boy.

Ryoga nodded down at the water.

Ranma followed Ryoga's line of sight and found himself wondering what exactly he was staring at. There was something glowing beneath the surface of the water where his and Ryoga's feet met. It was a pale green and encompassed the area the size of a football.

'What the hell is that?' he muttered to himself as he sank back into the water, temporarily distracted from the prospect of food.

'How am I supposed to know?' Ryoga snapped.

Ranma rolled his eyes at Ryoga and decided to investigate for himself. He moved forward in order to stick his hand in the water. However, as soon as he moved, the glow disappeared.

'Strange,' he mumbled 'it's gone.'

'Move your foot back.'

Ranma looked back at Ryoga and gave him quizzical look.

'Just shut up and do it'

So Ranma did. He slid his foot forward so it was again in contact with Ryoga's, the glow immediately returned.

'What the…' Ranma trailed off, unable to think up a reasonable explanation for what he was seeing. This had never happened before. He looked up to see what Ryoga's reaction was but the other boy was still transfixed, staring intently at the spot in the water.

Ranma's stomach rumbled, and he was again reminded ofwhat they were in danger of missing.

'We can figure this out later' He hurriedly climbed out of the furo.'If we don't get there quick, Pops is gonna eat all the food.'

Ryoga followed Ranma out of the water, albeit at a much slower pace. He sported a look of reluctance as he caught the set of clothes Ranma threw at him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Fully changed, Ranma leaned against the wall and waited on Ryoga. He rolled his eyes as he watched him stare intently at the water whilst sliding into the burrowed shirt. Did he think that if he stared long enough and hard enough that the water would provide him with answers? Ranma frowned slightly. He had his own questions of course, ones that only Ryoga could answer, but they were not ones he could easily ask. He doubted Ryoga would ever tell him anything anyway. Ranma sighed, wondering how this latest occurrence fit into the bigger picture concerning Ryoga's recent reappearance.

'Damnit Ryoga' he muttered.

Ranma began tapping his fingers against the wall as Ryoga began to ever so slowly do up the wooden ties on the front of the shirt. Ryoga would probably insist on walking to dinner after this. At this rate there would be nothing left for them to eat by the time arrived. Of course Ryoga had said he wasn't hungry but Ryoga was an idiot; good food always aided a swift recovery.

He opened his mouth to say 'Hurry up' but stopped short, realizing that it would most likely have the opposite affect on him. The mechanisms of Ranma's mind whirred into motion as a new battle plan was formulated. He came to the conclusion that the only way to overcome Ryoga's stubborn, heal-dragging self was through the execution of a surprise attack. A smirk lit his features as he silently moved behind the still utterly oblivious boy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Ranmaaa!' He cried out as the world sped by entirely too fast for his liking. Despite the fact he knew he wouldn't be dropped, he held onto Ranma like a barnacle to a rock. He would just never get used to being carried like this, especially at such breakneck speeds.

When they came to a stop, he felt very nauseous and seriously doubted he would be able to hold down anything even if he did try eating. Just when he thought his suffering was over, he world seemed to tilt dangerously, forcing him to close his eyes, and he felt himself being seated in a chair. When he opened his eyes it was to find himself staring down into a bowl of misu soup, only inches away from his face. It was a battle in itself to keep his face from plunging into the steaming yellow liquid.

'What happened to him?' came Nabiki's voice.

Ryoga looked up at Ranma, who sat opposite him at the table, wondering if he would spill the beans on him.

'Well you see...he…uh…fell off a mountain' Ranma replied nervously, scratching the back of his head.

Ryoga mouth fell open. Not because of the incredulous nature of the statement, but because somehow, even in his attempt to lie, Ranma had managed to stumble upon the truth, or at least part of it. He _had_ fallen off a mountain.

Nabiki raised and eyebrow and turned to Ryoga, who was still staring at Ranma incredulously 'This true?'

'Yea' well he wasn't lying.

'Oh my Ryoga-kun, are you sure you're ok?'

'Do you need to see a doctor?' Akane asked her brow wrinkling in concern. 'I'm sure Dr. Tofu…'

Ryoga waved her off, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving. 'Nah, don't worry about me. I'm fine.'

Genma snorted dismissively 'What's a little tumble?'

Soun nodded sombrely 'I must agree, I remember back when we were training under the…' he never got to finish as Genma's hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

'Don't say it, you will bring his evil down upon us' warned Genma in a hushed tone. Soun promptly burst into tears.

Ignoring her father, Akane crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Ranma expectantly. 'You still haven't explained why you disappeared for four days'

Soun stopped crying immediately and looked at Ranma sternly 'Yes, Where have you been boy?'

'Uhh…just a short training trip'

'You didn't take your backpack' Akane stated accusingly.

Ranma scowled at her. 'I didn't need one for just four days'

'To think my own son would leave on a training trip without telling his own father. Oh what ungrateful offspring I have sired.' Genma said with his usual melodramatic air.

'Whatever pops'

Soun patted his friend on the back 'There, there Genma. The boy is simply growing up. You cannot expect him to stay a child forever. How the years have flown by.' he promptly burst into tears again.

Akane looked at Ranma like she wanted to turn him into Ranma pancake. "You know you cant just live in our house and go off wherever, whenever you please. If you're living under our roof we have the right to know."

Ryoga sweatdropped. He had a funny feeling what she had meant to say was _' You're my fiancé! You can't just go off somewhere without telling me! I was worried about you'_ But of course a little something that he liked to call 'the Ranma effect' had twisted it horribly so it had come out as something entirely different.

Ranma pouted "Like I'd let an uncute tomboy like you know where I was goin. You'd probably follow me and beat me over the head for something I didn't do"

Nabiki and Kasumi sweat-dropped in unison, but this event went unnoticed by Ryoga and everyone else at the table.

Akane snorted and looked away indignantly 'Like I'd waste my time following a pervert like you! I couldn't care less what you do with your time'

'Exactly,' Ranma responded as he stuffed his mouth with more pickles, and just as quickly swallowed them 'you don't care, so it don't matter if I tell ya or not'

Akane bristled. "Fine! I don't care. Go spend some more time with that Chinese bimbo of yours"

Turning his head, Ranma fixed Akane with a glare. "Shampoo ain't no bimbo. She can speak two languages ya know. Could ya learn one as quick as she's learnt ours? Just cuz she don't speak Japanese as good as you do don't make her a bimbo' Ryoga couldn't help but wonder why Ranma was defending Shampoo over something so trivial.

'Why don't you go and marry her then!' Akane yelled as she shot up out of her seat

'Whatever tomboy, at least she can cook' he muttered as she stomped past him.

Ryoga's eyebrow twitched at the spectacularly cruel remark. It was cruel because it was true, and it played on far too many of Akane's insecurities.

Akane whirled around behind Ranma, her eyes brimming with tears. Shortly afterwards Akane's fist met the back of Ranma's skull.

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Ranma woke up to a dull aching of his skull.

'Ranma?' Ryoga's disembodied voice came from somewhere.

'Yea?'

'You're an idiot' he sounded pissed off at him.

Ranma tried to get up but was pushed back to the ground by the weight of Ryoga's foot on his chest.

'Why did you have say that to her?'

'What?' he asked, a little irked. Why was it always his fault?

Ryoga's face came into view above him, as expected there was glare firmly fixed upon its features. 'You knew it would upset her, but you went ahead and said it anyway. Do you just enjoy hurting her?' Ranma's eyebrow twitched at the accusation.

'She started it.' he retorted lamely.

Ryoga scowled. Ranma stared at him expectantly, waiting for the lost boy to come out with the customary 'this all your fault ', 'DIE!' or something along those lines. Ryoga kept his jaw clamped firmly shut, and Ranma wondered if perhaps Ryoga was aware of what he had been thinking.

When he finally spoke, it was not what Ranma expected to hear.

'Oh grow up,' Ryoga said with a look of disdain, before stalking away. To Ranma, it felt like a slap in the face.

He propped himself up on his elbows and glared at Ryoga's back as he disappeared through the doorway. What right did he have to tell him to grow up? Did he just expect him to sit there and take everything Akane threw at him and give nothing back?

Ranma huffed. Ryoga had gotten to him more than usual today, and it pissed him off. Usually it was the other way round. With a sigh he let himself drop to the floor again and stared at the ceiling, his fingers absently tracing the grooves in the wooden floor beneath him.

His thoughts drifted back to the argument with Akane. She had reminded again him today, with her talk of 'our house' that this place wasn't really his home.

Turning onto his stomach, he pressed his forehead into the cold wooden floor. He wondered what his mother was doing right now. Did she eat alone today? Ranma frowned at the familiar place his train of thought was taking him. He banged his head against the floor repeatedly. It was better not to think at all.

'Ranma? Where the hell are you?' Ryoga voice boomed from somewhere in the house.

Ranma got up, thankful for the distraction. He headed off in the direction of the cries in search of Ryoga, as it would take Ryoga far too long to find him.

When Ranma finally found Ryoga, he was pacing in the broom closet.

'Where's my backpack?' Ryoga asked anxiously, grabbing onto Ranma's shoulder.

'Um I left in the park' he replied dumbly.

'You have to get it back now!'

Ranma would have refused out of pinciple, but the panicked expression on Ryoga's face made him think again. 'I'll go get in now, Ok?'

Ryoga simply nodded, a haunted look in his eyes.

Without further delay Ranma ran for the nearest exit, wondering, not for the first time in the last few days, what the hell was going on.

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**(Flashback: 5 years ago)**

Ryoga sat within the cool shadows of the giant oak tree that grew in the corner of the school field. His body was nestled within a small nook created by the trees large roots, rendering him near invisible to the rest of the world. He stared enviously at the group of children playing in the distance. This was why he hated lunch hour.

A sudden yelp came from above and when Ryoga looked up, it was to see a dark object descending rapidly on his position. Instinctively he leapt out of the way, landing several metres from the tree. Turning around to see what it was that had nearly landed on him, he was more than a little surprised to see a boy sprawled awkwardly where he had been moments before.

Ryoga growled at the boy who had trespassed on his seclusion. 'Who the hell are you?'

The boy looked embarrassed for a moment but quickly picked himself up and struck a proud pose. 'The heir to the Sataome Ryu School of martial arts and soon to be greatest martial artist in the world'

Ryoga snorted 'You don't look so great to me'

The boy smirked. 'Think ya can beat me?'

'I could kick your wimpy ass'

The boy put his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels 'Try me'

Ryoga narrowed his eyes and popped his knuckles. He didn't want to hurt the boy but he wasn't about to back down from a challenge. Without giving a warning he charged, fully intent on laying the boy out with a single blow. The boy didn't move. As he closed the distance his fist rocketed forward on a trajectory towards the boys face. To his surprise the boy twisted his body at the last moment, simply letting Ryoga's punch whiz past his face, before sending Ryoga crashing to the ground with an open palm strike to the side of the head.

Ryoga rolled quickly to his feet, realizing, with his head ringing, that he had vastly underestimated his opponent. He was given no time to recover as he was forced to jump over a legsweep only to receive a reverse elbow to the gut.

He back-pedalled from the hit, narrowly avoiding a rising fist to the jaw.

Ryoga blocked the next few blows before lashing out with a low kick. The boy swivelled sideways to avoid it.

Seeing his opportunity, Ryoga shoulder charged his opponent in the ribs. He succeeded in taking both of them down, but received a painful elbow to the back of the head.

They tussled on the ground, in a furious exchange of hits and holds. Ryoga managed to get through the boys guard and connect a vicious left hook to the jaw. He thought he had the advantage now, but a knee in the belly told him otherwise. The follow up palm strike to the sternum knocked the air out of him and sent him tumbling away from his opponent.

He got to his feet slower than before, wheezing from the pain in his stomach. Metres away his opponent also rose to his feet, a look of determination set upon his features despite the blood dripping freely from his mouth. Each stood, breathing heavily, eyes locked on one another.

Simultaneously, they charged.

Ryoga made his move first, twisting his body and aiming a snap kick towards his opponent's head.

His eyes went wide when the kick sliced through empty air.

The boy landed lightly on Ryoga's head and pushed off, using it as a springboard to launch himself towards the tree. Ryoga went stumbling forward, as the boy planted his feet on the trunk of the tree and sent himself flying back.

Ryoga turned around only in time to see a foot hurtling towards his face.

Instinctively he put his hands out in front of him.

The kick impacted.

Surprise registered momentarily on the faces of both boys.

Somehow Ryoga had managed to catch the boy's foot.

The momentum of the kick pushed Ryoga backwards, setting him off balance, but he managed to turn it to his advantage by turning his stumble into a spin.

'Oh crap' he heard the boy say.

Ryoga continued to spin, holding onto the foot as if it were a shot-put, making himself feel dizzy in the process. Finally when it felt like he couldn't spin any faster, he let go.

The boy shot through the air and hit the oak with a resounding thud. Pieces of bark fell off the tree as he slid down the trunk to rest on his head.

Ryoga would've been delighted with his luck, since he hadn't actually been aiming for the tree, but he was feeling far from fine. The world was spinning around him and his legs felt like they might give just way.

The other boy groaned from his position against the tree and fell to the ground in an undignified heap. Slowly, wincing in pain, he got up and walked towards Ryoga. Ryoga blinked in surprise. He had fully expected him to be out for the count after his head on collision with the tree. He tensed up, wondering if the boy would attack again.

'You ain't half bad' the boy said with a friendly smile as he approached.

Ryoga grunted from his position, leaning over with his hands resting on his thighs.

'Gonna to be sick' was all the warning he gave before leaning forward and throwing up his lunch. The boy sweatdropped as he narrowly avoided being caught in the deluge.

After he finished, Ryoga let out a groan and stared balefully at his former lunch.

An open bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of his face. Glancing upwards he saw the boy he had just fought smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of the head.

"Hi, I'm Ranma Sataome, sorry bout this.'

Ryoga nodded and accepted the bottle. He washed out his mouth and spat out on the grass, before taking a long swig of the water. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he handed the bottle back to Ranma.

'Thanks. I'm Ryoga Hibiki." He stood up fully and looked at Ranma questioningly "Who won?'

Ranma looked at the mess on the ground then reached round to rub the lump on the back of his head as if to assess its size.

'I think' he said with an impish grin 'we can call it a draw.'

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**(10 days ago)**

'So tell me, what is this Honour?'

For a while he mulled over how precisely to convey the meaning of honour and it's importance. No one had ever asked him to explain it before.

Clearing his throat he finally spoke 'I guess what it boils down to is a man's integrity, based upon his actions in light of his moral identity.'

'Moral identity?'

'Well yea, my moral identity is defined by the code of the martial artist.'

'Bushido?'

'Yes'

'But what exactly is bushido?'

'Um…its sort of like an unwritten code of moral principles, passed down through the generations from one warrior to another.' He paused 'At it's centre are seven core virtues - rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, glory and loyalty.'

'I see.' Her eyes twinkled with suppressed mirth 'So according to this code it acceptable for you to deceive an innocent girl into believing you are a harmless animal, and worm your way into her arms and into her bed? '

'Wha…what?' Ryoga spluttered. 'It's not like that! It's not like that at all!'

'Oh?'

'I swear I've never done anything indecent!' he said with vehemence 'It's just that it's complicated. And I... I can't tell the truth because she will hate me.'

'Is that not a lack of courage to do the right thing?'

Ryoga's shoulders slumped.

She simply took another sip from her teacup.

'So you are also in keeping with this code when you blame others for your own misfortune and deficiencies?''

'What are you talking about?'

'Isn't Ranma your scapegoat?'

'Huh.' Ryoga stared in confusion for a moment before the words sank in. 'He is not my scapegoat!'

'Then perhaps he is more then?' She asked rubbing her chin in thought 'Weren't the two of you once friends?'

'No.' he said looking away.

'Really?'

'We were never friends' he snapped.

'You hate him then?'

'More than anything else in this world'

She sighed. 'The youth of today can be so melodramatic. _Why _exactly do you hate him?'

'He's ruined by life'

'I thought you said he wasn't your scapegoat'

'He _has_ ruined my life' he said evenly

'How so?'

'Well for one thing, he's always insulting me and humiliating me some way.' He grumbled

'Isn't that just paranoia?'

'I'm not paranoid!'

'Well you _are_ rather fixated with this image of Ranma as this person who's 'out to get you', are you not? Perhaps you are making mountains out of molehills, or mountains out of nothing at all. Perhaps next time you just stop and think before flying off the handle.'

'I don't fly off the handle' he growled

'Well if you say so.' she said in bored tone 'Is that it then? He's ruined your life by throwing a few insults?'

'No.'

'Well?'

Ryoga glared at the table 'He's cursed me…to be a pig of all things. Can you imagine what that feels like? I can't even remember the number of time I've had to run for my life from things that have wanted to make a meal out of me. Do you know how terrifying that is to be so small and helpless, with something hunting you down for food, and the only thing you can do is run?'

'Well at least you didn't fall into spring of drowned slug'

Ryoga eyes went wide and his face lost all colour at the thought of such a fate. He quickly shook his head free of the disturbing thoughts. He looked at Marla through half lidded eyes. Did she think that just because there was a fate worse than his made his any easier to handle?

'Well, are you going to carry on or is that it?'

He ground his teeth together and continued. 'He's taken the girl I love, and treats her like shit. And despite how he treats her, she still cares about him.' There was a pregnant pause 'And he…he stole my damn bread!'

'Really?' she said leaning forward and raising an eyebrow 'I get the impression there is more, but we will come back to that later. How exactly has he taken this girl you loved?'

'Well he's engaged to her isn't he?'

'Weren't they both _forced_ into the engagement by their fathers?

'That's not the point!'

'Then what is?'

'That bastard doesn't deserve her!'

'And I suppose you do?'

'I didn't say that' he growled.

'Well in any case he can't exactly leave her to you now can he? He is honour bound to fulfil the engagement and so is she. Neither of them can back out of the engagement without causing loss of face to their respective clans. Come to think of it, is it not dishonourable of you to interfere in such a matter?

'That's just bullshit! A girl should marry out of love not duty, and I'm not going to step aside and shelf my feelings just because of some stupid agreement between their parents!'

'And what of honour?'

Ryoga opened his mouth to reply but found no words forthcoming.

Marla smiled wryly 'Ryoga you can't have it both ways you know' She shook her head slightly and clapped her hands together. 'Anyway, back to how Ranma ruined your life.'

Ryoga was left feeling dazed at how casually she changed of subject. 'Huh?'

'Oone of the things that you hate him for, but didn't mention, is the fact that he is a better fighter than you?'

'I'm just as good as he is'

'Are you sure? I mean he is rather good.'

Ryoga snorted derisively. 'Why does everyone think Ranma's so great? It's like the entire world revolves around him, Ranma this, Ranma that. I've beaten him plenty of times.'

'Oh, I see. Attention starved as you are, you crave some of the attention he seems to get in abundance.' Her tone was patronizing. 'You're simply jealous'

'I'm not jealous' he muttered.

She shrugged 'Have you ever considered that maybe the world seems to revolve around him because _your_ world _does_?

Ryoga's brow wrinkled in confusion.' What?'

'Well you did spend five years following the boy, and one way or another, you do spend an awful lot of time thinking about him. It seems like quite an unhealthy fixation you have there.'

Ryoga eyebrow twitched but he chose not to respond. He no longer trusted his mouth to speak for fear that, in her hands, his own words would somehow betray him.

'Tell me then, why is it that you really followed him all those years? You know and I both know that it wasn't over a bread feud.'

Ryoga remained silent and gazed into the crackling orange flames of the hearth. She was playing with him. She was pulling out his insides and poking fun at them as if his life was some trivial and amusing matter. He wouldn't give her any more.

"Well, if you won't tell me, I'll have to tell _you_ instead.' Ryoga glanced away from the fire to see her reclining in her chair looking decidedly smug.

'I think you were a very lonely boy. Then one day one Ranma Sataome appeared into your life and for a while you weren't alone. But in the end he had to leave. And you were alone again.' She leaned forward in her chair and placed her teacup on the table, not taking her eyes from his. 'You resented him because he left you behind, and you chased him all those years because you couldn't stand to be alone anymore.'

The empty teacup that he had been holding shattered in the grip of his hand. The old woman didn't know what she was talking about. Who was she to tell him how he felt?

'Deny it all you want, but I can see the truth better than you.'

'What do you want from me?' he asked, his voice suddenly raspy.

'You have given me all that I wanted' She raised her hand and waved it casually towards him. His chair flew backwards into the wall and he was sent crashing to the floor with a resounding thud. He tried to get up but he found that he could no longer move his body.

She rose from her chair and walked over to him. 'Congratulations Ryoga, you've passed.' She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out something metallic. It was an amulet. 'Here is your gift.'

She crouched down in front of him. 'For the next fourteen days you will be free from your Jusenkyo curse. If you wish it to be a permanent simply get this amulet around Ranma's neck. You will be forever free from you curse whilst Ranma will be altered irreversibly into his cursed form.'

She leaned over his prone body and gently draped the amulet around his neck 'One more little thing. If by midnight on the fourteenth day you have failed to get this around her neck you will never again walk on two legs. I hope I've made myself quite clear.' Ryoga listened numbly, as darkness crept into the corners of vision.

'You said you hated Ranma. Is this not the ultimate revenge?' She whispered in his ear as his world turned black.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**(Flashback: 5 years ago)**

'Ranma?' he called. It had taken him four whole days but he had finally made it, on his own. His chest was puffed up with no small amount of pride.

The lot was empty and silent.

'Ranma?' he called again, this time a little uncertainty edged into his voice. Was Ranma hiding from him? Waiting for him to drop his guard so he could attack?

His hands balled into fists and he yelled with all his might 'Come out and face me like a man!'

He waited eagerly, his body tense with anticipation. Any moment now he expected Ranma to appear, standing in his lazy stance, and smirk at him, perhaps make a jibe or two about his punctuality. They would fight for a while, neither holding back, but eventually Ranma would flash a toothy grin and call it a draw. Then Ryoga would ask the question he had been meaning to ask ever since he had found out they were leaving.

He would ask them to take him with them.

His eyes drifting across the parking lot as he shifted restlessly on his feet with the passing of minutes. Yellowed shoots of grass and weed poked through cracks in the asphalt. An old newspaper sat quietly in the corner, happy in the shade of its retirement beneath the wooden fencing.

A dry wind stirred the silence.

And finally it hit him, like a solid fist in the gut, his cheerful expression crumbling under the weight of realization.

'You coward' he spat accusingly as he sank to his knees.

Angry tears fell onto sun baked asphalt and quickly evaporated from the hot surface as if they had never been. His head hung low, unruly black bangs falling over his eyes, in an attempt to hide his weakness from the world. He slammed his fist into the ground; an almost imperceptible spider-web of cracks blossoming around the bloodied point of impact.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**(10 days ago)**

Ryoga returned to the world of the waking and was welcomed by a throbbing headache. It was almost as if he was suffering a hangover after drinking an entire barrel of sake. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around grimly. The sky wore the evening colours of pink and lilac rather than the dark blue he was expecting. Next to him laid a rather broken looking tree, its trunk snapped in two. His backpack lay only a few metres away against another tree, though that that tree was still standing.

He rolled on his stomach to look behind him and saw a very familiar looking boulder sitting some distance away, a trail of destruction in its wake. Everything told him that this was where he had fallen from the ledge, though he could have sworn he had left this place a long time ago.

He looked around again. There was no Giant Redwood labyrinth, no cottage, and no evil old woman in a faded black dress. He quickly looked at his watch. It read 6:30 on the 17th day of the month. Only a few hours had passed since he was sitting up there on the ledge.

Had it all been a dream? How else could he explain it? He had been knocked out by the boulder and had the mother of all nightmares.

He began to laugh, almost hysterically. It had just been a dream. For a while he had been worried, but now he just felt foolish. Of course it had been a dream, the whole thing was just too ludicrous to be true.

Grinning like a madman he pushed off the ground with his arms to gain a sitting position.

Something swung down from his neck and hit his chest.

His laughter caught in his throat and died. The grin melted from his face. Slowly, his eyes travelled down.

A silver amulet sat against his chest, glimmering in the evening light.

He took the amulet in his hand and brought it closer to his face. It was circular, roughly two inches in diameter and about half an inch thick. There was an outer ring of plain silver, and within this circular frame was an extraordinarily detailed silver butterfly. He flipped the amulet around to observe the other side. The butterfly's delicate legs were clutching a small diamond the size of a hummingbird's egg.

Ryoga let the amulet drop from his hand, and just stared numbly at the ground between his legs. This little piece of jewellery meant that everything that had happened, no matter how ridiculous it had seemed, was somehow real.

He had really messed up this time.

He got up mechanically and walked towards his backpack, swinging it up and sliding the straps onto his shoulders. Carefully removing the amulet from his necks he reached back and slipped it into one of the side pockets of his backpack. He didn't want the thing hanging around his neck.

He began walking, not really aware of where he was going. His mind was preoccupied with his new situation and how he was going to deal with it.

……………**.(A while later)…………**

Ryoga shivered at the sudden cold that had claimed the forest. His breath condensed like a cloud of billowing smoke in front of his face. Such abrupt weather changes were not uncommon in these mountainous regions. As such he continued to trudge forward unperturbed, he noted the slight fog that was building but didn't give it any further thought.

However, after only a few minutes had passed the fog had thickened to the point where visibility was reduced to only a few metres. His thoughts were conflicted. He didn't want to stop because he knew that with nothing to do his thoughts would spiral around the events concerning the amulet that sat in his backpack. He didn't want to think about it anymore, he had been thinking about it for far too long already and it had gotten him nowhere. On the other hand, travelling with such poor visibility could be dangerous. It would be wiser to set up camp and wait for the fog to lift. In the end though his desire not to stop won through and he continued moving forward. It was just a little fog after all.

A deep resonating cry sounded of in the distance.

He froze. It hadn't sounded like any animal he had ever come across before, and whatever had made that noise was definitely not of the small variety. Grasping his shoulder straps more tightly, he began to walk a little faster. At least it had sounded quite far away.

Another cry sounded off, closer this time.

His heart began to beat faster. Was there more than one of those things out there? Or was there just one, and it had simply gotten closer to him? Without further thought he broke out into a run, deciding it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't really want to find out what was capable of making such a noise. The fog hindered him greatly as he ran, and he found himself running into trees frequently. Nevertheless he continued.

Without warning his foot caught on something and he found himself falling to the damp forest floor, gaining a mouth full of wet leaves. Spitting the foul contents from his mouth he pushed himself off the ground. The dampness had soaked through his clothes and it left him feeling even colder than before.

The cry sounded off again.

It sounded close, too close, less than a hundred metres away. He dismissed the possibility of multiple creatures out there. Now it seemed like there was only one creature out there and it was closing in on him, fast.

He was being hunted.

Letting his bag drop to the ground, he brought out his umbrella, its presence in his hand helping to calm his rattled nerves and lending him confidence. Turning around to face the direction he thought the cries were coming from, he waited with his muscles tense and ready for action.

Minutes passed but nothing happened. His mouth was dry. It should have appeared by now. What was it doing out there? He shifted on his feet and looked around, uncertain now of where the attack would come from when it came.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose up. He could feel it. A part of his mind urged him to flee, told him that the prey was no supposed to stand and fight. But he couldn't outrun it, not in this fog. His ears picked up a slight crunching of leaves behind him and he whirled around, his grip on his umbrella tightening. An enormous shadow appeared in the fog in front of him.

And then it came at him, its massive black mass tearing through the air towards him. But all he could see were the teeth, glassy translucent teeth the size of fingers.

Instinctively he grabbed onto his umbrella with _both_ hands, and held it in front of his face. The thing landed on him, sending him crashing to the ground and pinning him down with its large mass. Now the umbrella, lodged firmly in the creature's massive jaws, was all that kept those teeth from slicing into his face.

However the umbrella was slowly being pushed back down and the teeth inched closer. Warm liquid from the open maw dripped onto his face and hot acrid breath invaded his nostrils, causing them to flare up in protest.

With grimace of determination Ryoga pushed his muscles harder and managed to prevent the gnashing jaws from descending any further. With a swift movement, he let one end of the umbrella drop down, causing the creatures jaws to slide down the shaft, and used the raised end to strike the creature in the side of the head. Its body was sent toppling off of his.

Ryoga immediately flipped onto his feet, his breath ragged from fear rather than exertion. The creature had disappeared into the fog again but he knew it wasn't over, not by a long shot. He could feel the sting of cuts on his left shoulder where the creature's claws had struck, but they were inconsequential.

A guttural noise came from his left and he whirled around to face it. The creature came part way out of the fog to stare at him with soulless black eyes. Its hulking body was thick with an unholy amount of muscle; it's back arched upwards like that of a bison due to the extent of the muscle around its broad shoulders. The only way Ryoga could think to describe the beast was as a strange amalgamation of bear and rabid werewolf. Whatever it was, it was an abomination.

Its lips curled back in a snarl, again revealing the set of glassy teeth, as it stalked forward. It opened it jaws slightly, a strings of saliva connecting the huge canines.

'Fuck you too' growled Ryoga, as he charged forward leading with his right shoulder, intent on caving in the creatures skull with his umbrella.

The umbrella swung forward towards the creatures face but before it could complete it's arc the creature leapt forward, with speed unbecoming of its size, straight into the attack.

Ryoga cried out in pain as he felt claws sink painfully into his side before sending him hurtling away. His body crashed through one tree and came to a jarring halt against another. The large tree shuddered from the impact. With a grunt he got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his side. His vision was suddenly filled with blackness as the creature launched itself out of the fog towards him. He narrowly managed to duck and roll out of the way as the strike from the creatures arm severed the tree he had been standing against.

Without hesitation it turned and came at him again but this time Ryoga was ready. He jumped over it as it lunged forward, driving the end of his umbrella hard into its neck. This elicited a howl of pain, as the creature collapsed onto ground.

Wasting no time, Ryoga jumped onto it's back and used his umbrella to gain a sleeper hold around the creature's thick neck. The thing regained its footing and began to thrash about wildly and he struggled to maintain his position on its awkwardly shaped back. Suddenly it broke out into a very fast lope, and Ryoga tightened his hold on the umbrella hoping against hope that he could asphyxiate the beast. They crashed through one tree after another, but Ryoga clung on in desperation unwilling to let go of his best hope.

The creature came to a jarring halt.

Unfortunately for Ryoga the momentum carried his body over the creatures head so that he was lying on his back with the creatures drippings jaws looming above him.

Ryoga eyes went wide as the teeth bore down upon his face. He tried to roll out of the way but he wasn't fast enough. The glassy razors sunk into the flesh of shoulder, slicing through muscle, sinew and bone. Ryoga screamed at the excruciating pain, his grip on his umbrella relinquishing as the rest of his arm went numb. A large paw descended on his chest, pinning him down and carving into his chest with its curved claws. A sudden jolt passed through him, originating from his shoulder, causing him to spasm slightly.

He could feel it. A strange corruption had appeared in his ki, starting at his shoulder and slowly spreading outwards. As it spread his will to fight began to drain away from him.

_No! _He thought with every ounce of determination he could muster. _I won't just fucking die!_

He felt the corruption in his ki begin to recede a little.

In desperation Ryoga reached for his shoulder with his working hand, and made a futile effort to pry it free from the jaws that held it. His hand was slick with his own blood, and he struggled to even find a grip. Not giving up yet, his hand moved upwards until he found what he was looking for. Without restraint he plunged his fingers into the creatures eye, feeling it burst under the pressure and thick viscous liquid begin to leak out onto his hand.

Finally the creature relinquished its hold on his shoulder, and staggered backwards as it roared in anguish. Ryoga grabbed his fallen umbrella with his good hand and rolled away. The creature receded into the fog behind him and he found himself colliding into his backpack. With a grunt of effort he pulled up his body and propped it up in a sitting position against the bag. He felt terribly woozy having lost a lot of blood. He had a suspicion that the creature had been draining it from him. The corruption in his ki was also spreading again, but there was nothing he could do.

He stared impassively into the fog, waiting for the creature to come, as he knew it would. His trusty umbrella was positioned under his armpit ready for the final confrontation.

It was only moments before it made its noisy entrance. The frenzied creature charged haphazardly towards him, jaws agape. Ryoga smiled bitterly as he brought up the umbrella at the last possible moment, the tip facing away from him towards the creatures mouth. As the umbrella speared the creature through mouth under its own momentum, it let out a strangled cry. Both it and Ryoga were sent tumbling backwards.

And suddenly they were falling.

Ryoga stared past the creature's shoulder as it fell away from him and observed casually that they had fallen off the side of a cliff. He had been right about it being dangerous to travel in the fog.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any of its characters_.

Well I really suck at updating, and I don't think I'm going to get any better at it. All comments & criticism is appreciated.

**Chapter 5**

His index finger caressed the trigger of the rifle. The cold smooth metal sent a tingle up his spine. Just the slightest movement of his finger and a life would be extinguished.

Something cold and hard pressed against the back of his skull.

'Oh fu…'

He never got to finish as a bullet tore a path through his brain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryoga stood in front of the koi pond, not knowing how he had gotten there. He started to back away, alarmed by his proximity to such a large body of cold water, but came to a halt, remembering he had nothing to fear.

He walked a little closer and stared into the water, rippling ever so slightly and reflecting the soft yellow of the evening sky. The liquid surface shimmered like a portal to another dimension, with his dimensional double standing on the other side, beckoning him over to an entirely different world.

A dog barked in the distance causing the daydream to shatter, and Ryoga was once again standing before a pool of plain, innocuous water. It was amazing how something so harmless could cause so much trouble.

Beneath the surface the koi swam in meaningless circles. His reflection stared back at him almost accusingly. One of the koi rose up to break the surface before sinking back down below, leaving a widening series of rings behind it.

In an act of defiance he crouched down and stuck his hand in the water. His body tensed reflexively, but the water was cool and pleasant against his skin, and the tenseness quickly faded. He dragged his hand through the water with his fingers splayed, creating countless ripples that disrupted his reflection.

Closing his eyes, he sighed. The evening was warm, and the garden seemed so tranquil. So at odds with what he felt inside. The sky should be concrete grey, with a thunderstorm looming on the horizon. The air should be filled with a cold that sank into the bones and made you weary of living.

He opened his eyes and found another reflection next to his, staring up at him with a disapproving frown.

"I found it," the lips of the reflection moved but the voice came from beside him.

Ryoga rose to his feet and turned to face the owner of the reflection. Ranma stood there; backpack slung over one shoulder and a few loose strands of raven hair dancing over his forehead. Ryoga held out his hand for what belonged to him.

Ranma ignored the gesture, tilting his head slightly to look at Ryoga questioningly. "You gonna tell me what's goin on?"

"Just give me my bag."

"Maybe you should give me some answers first."

"No." he said flatly.

"Look P-chan, I just wanna know…"

Ryoga interrupted "It's got nothing to do with you!"

He lunged forward, trying to grab a shoulder strap.

He was too slow.

Ranma bent backwards out of reach and into a back flip, sending a foot out to catch Ryoga squarely on the chin.

Ryoga stumbled backwards a few steps before loosing his balance and taking an undignified fall to the ground. The impact with sent sharp shooting pain through his legs, reminding him that he was in no shape to take on Ranma. Wiping the dirt from his chin with the back of his hand, he looked up at Ranma with no small amount of resentment. Ranma stared down at him impassively. It was Ryoga who finally broke the stand off, "Why do you always have to make things so difficult?"

Ranma's expression hardened. "Fine" He dropped the backpack to the ground with a look of disdain. "Take your stupid backpack."

Digging his hands into his pockets, Ranma turned on his heels and stalked back towards the house, leaving Ryoga to glare at his back. But Ranma was quickly forgotten in favour of the backpack that lay ungaurded on the ground only metres away. Not bothering to stand up, Ryoga crawled towards it.

After struggling for a few moments with the latch, he opened up the side pocket and plunged his hand inside. His searching fingers quickly closed around something cold, hard and familiar in shape. He pressed his face into the cold leather of the backpack and let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding in. Taking out the amulet, he draped it around his neck and quickly concealed it beneath his burrowed shit shirt.

Slowly, pulling his bag onto his shoulders, he got up and looked around only to find himself alone in the garden.

"Ranma?" he called out, having to bite back on his already wounded pride.

No response.

"Ranma?" he called louder this time, a hint of panic leaking into his voice. If he got lost now, he may not find his way back for weeks. He didn't have the time for that.

Ranma reappeared in the doorway, wet, female and looking rather pissed off "What?"

"Take me to the dojo."

"Why should I?"

There was a dry silence as Ryoga tried to think of an answer but found himself unable to do so. He looked away from Ranma and stared bitterly at the ground. He wanted to tell Ranma to go to hell, but he couldn't. He hated this. Hated having to rely on others. Hated having to ask for help from the one person he wished never to ask anything from. Why was everything always so hard? Why was Ranma such a…

He was snapped out of his reverie by the sensation of being pulled forward. He looked up to find Ranma dragging him towards the house. He stared down at her hand, latched tightly onto his sleeve as she pulled him along. It dredged up old memories.

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The dead man's head fell hard onto the flat concrete roof, blood and cerebral fluid dribbling out from the hole in his forehead.

A figure stood behind him, dressed in a back hooded trench coat. What the overhang of the hood did not hide of the face was hidden beneath a plain white mask.

The figure crouched down, returning the silenced pistol into his coat before rolling the corpse over onto its back. Lifeless grey eyes gazed skywards. Arctic blue eyes stared down at the dead man's rifle.

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They came to a stop and Ranma let go of his sleeve. Ryoga's gaze lingered where she had held onto him, feeling a strange pang of nostalgia. A floorboard creaked and he looked up, expecting to find himself standing in the dojo. It wasn't the dojo though. The room was far too small. The window told him they were not even on ground level. Faded flower patterned wallpaper clung to the walls, peeling at the edges but refusing to relinquish its hold even though its time had long ago passed. There was nothing here that marked it at belonging to someone, no personalization, no display of personal items, nothing that marked it as being used. Perhaps the Tendo's had another guest room he had been unaware of.

His eyes fell upon the single incongruity within the room; leaning against a small wardrobe was a a worn looking backpack, swollen with contents that had yet to be unpacked.

Recognition dawned on him.

He turned to Ranma with narrowed eyes, "Why are we here?"

Completely ignoring his question, she headed over to the wardrobe. "I got a spare futon you can use."

Ryoga stared dumbly as she pulled out a worn looking futon and came back to offer it to him. "You betta not snore or I'll throw ya outa the window myself."

Ryoga blinked, and for a few moments he just stared at the futon held out in front of him. A tight ball of confused emotion welled up inside him and burst.

"I'm fucking fine!" He yelled, knocking the futon to the floor with a swipe of his hand. "I don't need to be looked after. Not by you or anyone else!"

Ranma looked down at the floored futon, then back up at Ryoga. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again without uttering a single word. Instead, she bit down on her lower lip and looked at him in a way that made Ryoga feel like scum.

"What?!"

She averted her eyes and shrugged. Turning away from him, Ranma started to walk away with her hands resting on the back of her head. "Go sleep in the dojo if ya want. But I ain't taking you there." She spoke over her shoulder, her voice brimming with indifference.

Ryoga stood there and stared after her as she left the room, feeling a little lost.

Slowly, leaning his backpack up against a wall, he bent down to pick up the fallen futon.

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In a room at the top of one of Tokyo's many towers, two men sat on opposite sides of a black rosewood desk.

One of the men, sporting a neatly trimmed grey beard, sat in a large almost throne like chair. Ornate curling dragons were carved into the armrests, and red leather padded the seat and backrest. Behind him a blinded window, which took up an entire wall, offered up a view of Tokyo in all its neon glory.

The other man sat in a simple black leather chair, with his legs crossed and his chin resting on the back of his hand.

Three sharp knocks sounded on the door.

"Enter" spoke the bearded man, his voice a rich baritone that matched his large, well built body. He closed the red folder he had been holding and placing it face down on the desk.

The ivory door handle turned and a young man entered, dressed in a white dress shirt and a tailored black suit. His well-polished shoes clicked across the marble floor, coming to a halt a few feet.from the desk. He bowed towards the bearded man. "It is done".

The bearded man nodded, a slight smile curving his lips. His raised his hand slightly in an act of dismissal.

With another bow the young man turned and left the room, the door clicking closed behind him.

"One of your hired guns?" Spoke the man in the leather chair. He had found himself looking into a pair of arctic blue eyes as the young man had turned to leave. Those eyes, upon a face that belied no expression, had sent a strange fear coursing through him.

"You think me a fool enough to let a hired gun in _here_, into the very heart of my fortress?"

The man in the leather chair forced a laugh and ran a hand through his back-combed blond hair "I suppose not."

The bearded man picked up a silver paperweight sitting on the desk and rolled it around in his palm, his expression serious. "In the glory days of this country, before it became a whore to the west, my forefathers knew the true meaning of loyalty. They lived by it." He snorted. "But times have changed, and today such loyalty is virtually extinct. But that boy… that young man' He paused, staring into the reflective surface of the silver.

"He took a bullet meant for me." The bearded man continued as he placed the paperweight back on the desk. "And it very nearly ended him."

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Morning came, and it couldn't have come too early for Ryoga. The amulet felt heavy against his chest. His body was sticky with sweat and the room seemed very small. The walls seemed to lean inwards on him. He wanted to leave, to go home, and to be in his own room with his own bed, surrounded by all the knick-knacks and items that made a room truly a room. This place was so sterile it made him feel queasy.

His futon was pressed right up against the wall, as far away from Ranma as he could manage.

He stared at Ranma. The side of Ranma's head pressed against his pillow, his mouth slightly open and his limbs akimbo. He looked almost harmless.

Ranma's eyes shot open suddenly and a pair of stormcloud eyes stared back into his. Ryoga quickly rolled onto his back, having been caught off guard.

"You sleep much?" came Ranma's voice.

He remained silent in the hope that Ranma would just leave him alone, his fingers clutching tightly the white woollen blanket he had woken up with.

"You look like ya didn't sleep at all." Ranma spoke again, stifling a yawn "That's not healthy ya know."

Part of Ryoga wanted to tell Ranma what an idiot he was for stating something so incredibly obvious, but he managed to resist the temptation.

"Ya know…." Ranma trailed off into silence.

Seconds passed into minutes and eventually Ryoga gave into his irritation, turning over to glare at Ranma, who was staring at him intently. "'Ya know' what?" he asked, his voice sounding scratchy.

Ranma shrugged noncommittally.

"You can't start to say something and not say it."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean 'why not?' You can't because it drives people crazy wondering just what the fuck you were going to say. If you're not going to finish saying something, don't open your mouth in the first place."

"Ok."

Ryoga growled as his irritation grew "Just tell me you bastard!"

"P-Chan," Ranma started, his expression thoughtful "for such a cute little piggy you swear wayyyy too much."

'I don't fucking swear too much! And don't call me P-Chan.'

Ranma smirked and raised an eyebrow at him.

Ryoga narrowed his eyes at him, realizing what Ranma was trying to do. "Don't try and change the subject. Just tell me what you were going to say."

"Fine." said Ranma with a huff, as he rolled onto his back and stretched out like a lazy cat. "I was just gonna say that it ain't good to keep stuff to yourself, ya know? You should talk to..."

Ryoga interrupted. "I've got nothing to talk about."

Ranma turned his head to look at him tiredly "You never change."

As Ryoga was still trying to process Ranma's last words, the door swung open and Akane burst into the room.

'Wake up baka! We're going to be late!' She tossed a bucket of water over Ranma. It must have been cold because he changed into a she instantly.

"Goddamnit!" Ranma yelled, shivering "I was already awake."

The words were wasted as Akane had already left.

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Ken jogged up stairs, ducking under the black and yellow striped tape that cut across the doorway, to step out onto the open rooftop. A half eaten jam doughnut stuck out of his mouth and his frameless glasses hung perilously from his face.

"What time do you call this?" A gruff voice called from beside him.

He turned to face his partner and mentor, Detective Gato. The man was many years his senior, and it showed in the greying hair at his temples and the wrinkles that marred his forehead. Gato took another puff of his cigarette, sending acrid smoke into Ken's face.

Ken removed the doughnut from his mouth and coughed. "Well, I can't really answer that."

"And why is that?" Gato deadpanned.

Ken gave an embarrassed chuckle as he fixed his glasses "I couldn't find my watch this morning so…"

The man in the grey trench coat squeezed the bridge of his nose and shook his head in exasperation.

"Why do I even bother?" he muttered as he turned his back to Ken.

Ken stuffed what remained of the doughnut into his mouth and followed the shorter man as he walked towards the edge of the roof. Chalk outlined the shape of a body next to where Gato came to a stop. Dried blood stained the concrete around the chalked out head.

"Two corpses" Gato said matter-of-factly. "Corpse one on the roof and corpse two on the street below. Corpse two killed by a single bullet to the head from a high-powered rifle. Corpse one killed by a single bullet to the back of the head by a pistol. Corpse one was also found with a sniper rifle in his arms. Said sniper rifle had fired a single round."

"Last night?"

"Evening around eight thirty. A team's already been on the scene so we missed the action. We'll probably get the ballistics report this afternoon. Feel free to take a look around, though there isn't really much left to look at.

"Where you going?"

"Going to talk to the management, see if any of the staff saw anything. I'll meet you down at the car." Gato turned and walked briskly towards the stairs.

Ken turned towards the street and stepped closer to the edge of the roof, the wind buffeting him as he peered down at the ground below. One look was enough to have him backing away from the edge with a gulp. Fifteen stories. It was a long way down.

His eyes fell once again on the chalk outline. Soon enough he would get to meet the owner of that outline. He shuddered. He wasn't looking forward to that meeting.

He shoved his hand's into his trouser pockets and looked skywards. The police team that been here last night had no doubt gone over everything thoroughly, and he would be able to read everything in their report. There was no point in him staying up here any longer.

He turned to leave but something on the ground caught his eye. Something small and black, being pushing along the edge of the roof by the wind. He crouched down and picked it up carefully. It was a feather. Holding it up against the morning sun, he twirled it around between in his middle and index fingers. The feather was surprisingly unruffled despite it's treatment by the wind and the smooth black surface shimmered purple and green against the dull morning light. What kind of bird did this feather belong too, he wondered. He stood up again and stuffed the feather into the inside pocket of his coat.

Turning round, he made his way back to the doorway and ducking beneath the tape again he left the rooftop behind him.

When he made it down to the car Gato was already there, waiting for him.

"What did they say?" He asked as he got into the car.

"There was an electrician that came in around seven 'o' clock last night, and that was all. Coincidentally corpse one was found with a toolbox containing no tools."

"So that explains the sniper." It always bugged Ken how Gato would always number the corpses instead of giving them names.

"Perhaps. We'll have to get a positive ID. But that still leaves us with nothing on who killed corpse one and we can't be sure that corpse one actually fired the shot that killed corpse two."

'Who else if not the guy on the roof WITH the sniper rifle? Ockham's razor**...'**

"You're still green as cabbage kid" Gato interrupted as he turned the key in ignition to start up the engine. "Ockham's razor doesn't apply in this city."

Ken snorted. "Well, what if one of the staff were involved? That would explain the missing killer who wasn't seen going up or down."

"I've asked for a full roster of staff and details on their employment, you can check it out later." Gato reversed out of the parking space. "Next stop, the morgue."

Kenjiro frowned.

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"The gun residue and burns around the entry wound suggest he was shot from point blank range' spoke the man in the long white lab coat as he gestured to the naked corpse lying face up on metal table. "There were no other injuries or signs of struggle."

"Thank you Tatsuya."

The man in the lab coat bowed politely to both Gato and Ken then retreated from the room.

Once Tatsuya had left the room Gato turned to Ken and began to pull off his latex gloves. "Go ahead and do your thing kid, I'm going out for a smoke."

With that, Gato too left the cold metallic room. Leaving Ken alone with the corpse. He sighed resignedly and turned to the corpse, his expression becoming serious as he stared down into the face of the deceased.

He hated this.

Taking off one of his latex gloves, he laid his bare hand on the cold flesh of the dead man's forehead.

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Ranma kicked a stone up the path as he returned from school. Akane was still mad at him. She hadn't said a word to him since her wake up call this morning. How long was she planning on being mad at him for? Goddamnit, he'd apologized already.

As he reached the door he wondered if Ryoga would be inside. He half expected the lost boy to live up to his reputation and have disappeared already. Ranma had been preoccupied with Ryoga all day, unable even to fall asleep in class. Ryoga was trying to hide something, but what was he trying to hide? During English class Ranma had made the decision to get to the bottom of it, one way or another. He wasn't going to let a little thing, like Ryoga unwillingness to say anything, get in his way. He frowned. That is if the guy in question was still around.

Ryoga was never around for long enough.

"I'm home." Ranma announced as he entered the Tendo household.

The warm smells of cooking immediately drifted to his nose, causing his stomach to rumble in anticipation. He took in a deep breath, a wry smile curving his lips. Putting away his shoes, he sauntered past the kitchen, glimpsing in surreptitiously to see Kasumi absorbed in her work. Oil sizzled, water boiled, and steam rose up in a plume over her head. The occasional clang of aluminium sounded off in the background. Various pots, pans and dishes were arrayed around her as she moved around them too and fro, like a seasoned pro. It was almost like she was conducting a culinary orchestra. She moved with a grace and a confidence he had once thought belonged only in the higher tiers of martial arts.

Ranma suddenly realized he had been staring for far too long and began to back away from the doorway. But it was too late. As if on queue, Kasumi turned and caught sight of him before he could make his escape. He just stood there under her gaze like a dear caught in headlights. He waited for the inevitable question as to why he had been standing there staring like an idiot, but the question never came. Instead she simply smiled at him, and Ranma couldn't help but to smile back, albeit a little sheepishly.

"Welcome home Ranma-kun." She turned back around to tend to one of the pans on the cooker, and Ranma felt a little relieved, and a little something else.

"How was your day?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Who? Me?"

She laughed lightly. "Don't be silly Ranma-kun, there's no-one else here"

"Uh, well it was ok I guess"

"You want to tell me about it?" She reached over to the spice cabinet and pulled out some chilli powder from one of the carefully ordered shelves, sprinkling some into one of the pots.

'Well, uh, I should go get changed and…'

"Could you peel these potatoes for me?" she interrupted, picking up a bowl of potatoes from next to the cooker and bringing it over to the small wooden table near the doorway. Her eyes twinkled with something he couldn't define.

"Sure," he found himself saying as he moved to sit at the table.

He picked up the potatoe peeler she had placed on the table and looked at the pile of potatoes with a slight smirk.

"And Ranma-kun."

"Yea?" He looked up at her questioningly.

"Take your time." she said with knowing smile.

He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head "Ill try."

She turned back around and moved to the cooker, taking one of the pots off the burner. "And whilst you do that, you can tell me all about your day."

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Ranma bounded up the stairs, his mood having lightened considerably. He would just dump his school stuff in his room and go check if Ryoga was wandering around somewhere.

He pushed open the door to his room with his foot and stepped inside.

"Ryoga?" he asked in surprise.

Ryoga sat with his head bowed in the corner of the room, right next to the open window. The net curtains billowed up around him as the air passed through them.

Ranma dropped his book bag to the wooden floor and walked closer with his brows knitted.

"Hey P-Chan, what'cha doing in here?"

What was normally sure to draw a reaction from Ryoga drew no response at all.

Feeling a little concerned, he crouched down next to Ryoga and grabbed his shoulder. "Hey Ryoga…" he trailed off, noticing the shallow but steady breathing and the closed eyes.

Ranma let himself fall onto his backside and let out a small sigh of relief. He felt like an idiot. Ryoga was just asleep.

Ranma lay on his back and pondered whether or not to wake him up. In the end he decided it would be best to let him sleep. Ryoga really needed some, going by the way he had looked in the morning. Anyway, sleep would speed up the recovery. And the faster Ryoga recovered, the sooner Ranma could kick his ass.


End file.
